Orders for Boeing planes, meanwhile, plunged by more than half during the year, a grim reminder that carriers have been scaling back spending since the summer to cope with fewer air travelers as the world economy weakens.

Boeing, the world's second-largest plane manufacturer after Airbus, has blamed an eight-week strike by machinists and other production glitches for delaying the delivery of new jetliners. The planes include the world's top-selling 737 and its long-awaited 787, a next-generation aircraft built for fuel efficiency with carbon composite parts.

The strike by 27,000 union workers, including electricians, painters and mechanics, forced Boeing to shut its commercial aircraft plants from early September to early November, costing the company an estimated $100 million a day in deferred revenue.

But even without the work stoppage, demand for Boeing aircraft slowed after the summer because of the global economic downturn, which forced airlines to reduce flights.

Analysts had anticipated Boeing's lower overall aircraft deliveries for 2008 as a result of the strike.

The company on Thursday reported 375 deliveries for 2008, down from 441 planes a year earlier. The 2008 tally included 41 deliveries in December, a typical monthly number after several months of strike-dampened levels.

Boeing delivered just 12 commercial airplanes in September – two of them before the strike began on Sept. 6 – five in October and four in November.

That compared with 36 planes delivered monthly in July and August.

Cowen & Co. analyst Cai von Rumohr said Boeing's December numbers were an encouraging improvement over those for November, although he had anticipated the rebound.

However, he remained cautious about the company's performance in 2009.

"Given the tough economy, stretchouts/cancellations remain an issue ... and cash flow is apt to be under pressure."

Chicago-based Boeing said it took 662 net orders for commercial aircraft last year, down from 1,413 in 2007 and its lowest total since 2004. The three top customers by number of planes were all foreign carriers, reflecting the deep trouble facing U.S. airlines.

The net-order figure, which accounts for cancelations, brought Boeing's backlog of unfilled commercial orders to more than 3,700.

But Airbus, based in Toulouse, France, already had exceeded those results in the first 11 months of the year. It reported 437 jet deliveries and 756 net orders for the year through Nov. 30.